Chapter 4

Betty got up from her desk and led Castle toward another desk at the other end of the floor. A tall, slender man with brown curly hair and an ascot came quickly out of an office. For some reason, he reminded Castle of Eustace Tilley from The New Yorker.

"Hey Marc," Betty said cheerfully.

"No time!" Marc said in a panicked rush then stopped when he saw Castle. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Rick Castle," she introduced. "Rick, this is Marc St. James."

"The mystery writer?" Marc asked.

"One in the same," Castle said shaking his hand.

"I'm just giving Rick a tour of Mode," Betty said.

"I'm thinking of setting a story in the magazine industry," he explained.

Marc sighed wistfully. "Recreational reading. I vaguely recall what that was like."

"I take it you don't have much time to read for fun," Castle inferred.

Marc looked at him like he was insane. "Are you kidding? Being Wilhelmina Slater's executive assistant is the hardest job in this entire company. You are on call twenty-four hours a day seven days a week."

Castle noticed the YETI binder on the desk. "You're in the Young Editors' Training Initiative?"

"As much fun as it is to grovel at Wilhelmina's feet, I prefer to think of it as a stepping stone. YETI is the next step in my master plan," Marc confided.

"Actually, we're both participating in YETI this year," Betty added.

Castle was surprised. "I thought they only accepted one person from a magazine."

"Oh, they still do. I'm representing Mode," Marc said vainly then waved his hand dismissively in front of Betty. "She's representing Player."

She sighed. "Is there any chance we might be able to speak with Wilhelmina?"

"While I would love to grant an audience with the true creative genius behind Mode, now is not a good time. She has a meeting with Fabia in ten minutes," Marc said then froze. "She's here. Go!"

He made shooing motions causing Castle and Betty to back up against the wall then rushed into his boss's office again. Castle made an attempt to move forward but was prevented by Betty. He looked down at the young assistant who quickly shook her head. Understanding her message, he stayed put.

Castle sensed a change in the atmosphere like a sudden storm was about to hit. He heard the staccato click of stiletto heels approaching purposefully toward them. Then he saw her for the first time.

None of the pictures he had seen had done Wilhelmina Slater justice. The African-American model-turned-creative-director-turned-co-editor-in -chief was stunning in a classic white Valentino skirt suit. Her striking grey eyes flashed as she strode past them.

"Marc!" she barked causing Castle to jump slightly.

"Yes, Willie," he said rushing out of her office.

"Is everything ready?" she asked.

"Yes, Willie," he said.

"Good," she said as she walked into her office with Marc following close behind. "Fabia's in the building. Not even the aromatherapy from the steam room can cover that perfume."

"Wow," Castle whispered to Betty.

"Wilhelmina is a force of nature," she whispered back.

"And Fabia?"

"European cosmetics mogul. I guess you could say they're sort of frenemies."

Hmm, poisonous cosmetics, Castle thought, or poison absorbed in a steam room. He was pondering the possibilities when an Italian beauty with an unlikely shade of long blonde hair and an entourage of three men wearing dark suits and turtlenecks swept past.

"Is that?" he asked.

"Fabia," Betty said.

"Was she carrying a Chihuahua?"

"Uh-huh."

"Was it wearing an outfit that matched hers?"

"Uh-huh."

"Did she just drop her gum in Marc's palm?"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh man, I couldn't make this stuff up," Castle said gleefully.

ooOoo

Author notes: The Ugly Betty episodes referenced in this chapter are 3.9 "When Betty Met YETI", 1.23 "East Side Story" and 4.1 "The Butterfly Effect, Part 1".